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So I've heard rumors among numerous news outlets that Tesla is working on a new electric "supertruck". If this is true, Tesla Motors is straying far away from its original master plan. They are supposed to be scaling down in favor of more affordable vehicles and NOT expanding their variety of toys for the very rich.

Tesla's secret plan is to scale down with each successive model to make electric cars affordable as quickly as possible. R&D is paid for by success of preceding models, and each successive model would become significantly cheaper. Based on the introduction of the Model X and the supposed creation of this "supertruck", it appears they are moving instead toward a plan of making an electric supercar for every category of vehicle.

I just hope they don't make another Roadster; the electric sportscar stuff should be handled by Detroit Electric until Tesla starts selling a car that the American public can afford.

Brian H | April 19, 2013

Another Roadster is rumored to be in the works about a year after the GenIII and its smaller platform is in production. A pick-up on the Model S/X platform would be a fairly trivial exercise by comparison with the GenIII, and might have some serious short-term profit benefits.

Sudre_ | April 20, 2013

I think Tesla can think up all kinds of things while they wait for the battery tech to catch up to what they need for the GenIII. No need to not make another model for three years. It's not like Tesla can make the GennIII right now and they aren't waiting because they want to screw with people. They are waiting for battery prices to come down a little or a breakthrough battery to be mass-produced.

Brian H | April 20, 2013

Sudre_;
I think they are also waiting for the financial clout to leverage it. They will need new production lines and much more R&D, etc., followed by major raw materials and component purchases that will require credit standing and cash. It's too tiring for Elon to stand at the head of the production line and pop finished cars out of his forehead.

TeslaRocks | April 20, 2013

Also, a Tesla supertruck would add to Tesla's (and EVs') reputation while being potentially very lucrative. It makes the most sense to do a supertruck within the next couple years rather than later (such as after the Gen3 is released), so why not do it now? All this will lead to a perfect storm of factors when it will be time for the release of the car for the people, so think of how great it will be! I know it might seem like Tesla is only catering to the rich, but I think you need to have a little faith in the process and wait patiently, save money meanwhile so you can be among the first to place a reservation on the Gen3.

Earl and Nagin ... | April 21, 2013

@jlin005,
I agree that everyone would like Tesla to take the short road to an affordable car. It would have and will save me a lot of money.
However, it isn't clear that the short road gets to an affordable car.
Minor body modifications to the Model S (Model X, supertruck, etc) won't require a huge amount of extra capital and risk but will fill out Tesla's line of luxury vehicles. If seizing these targets of opportunity on the path to the gen III helps cement Tesla's success to be able to make the gen III, I'm all for it.

ian t.wa.us | April 21, 2013

+1 Well said Earl and Nagin.

Brian H | April 23, 2013

Sounds like trying to justify the specific mod you want. I doubt it could be made profitable in time to generate much for the GenIII project. Much better to exploit the untapped potential of the S, becoming more mature and "debugged" by the month.